Chapter 42 Nikolai
Before the meeting started, I had pulled Vera aside.
"Listen to me carefully," I whispered. My hand gripped her shoulder. "If things go wrong tonight. I need you to cut the power."
Vera's eyes widened. "Cut the power, Pakhan?"
"Yes. All of it. The entire estate."
Vera nodded slowly. "Yes, Pakhan."
"Good. And I have already instructed Viktor, one of my most trusted guards, to be ready. The moment the lights go out, he will take Anya to this address." I handed her a piece of paper.
She nodded and left.
I knew I was afraid of the dark. But for Anya, I would endure hell.
Now, sitting in this meeting, listening to these fools decide Anya's fate, I waited.
Dmitri had just given his ultimatum. Either she leaves peacefully or we execute her.
My blood boiled. My hands clenched into fists under the table.
"What will it be, Pakhan?" Katya's father asked. "What is your choice?"
Before I could tell them all to go to hell, the lights went out.
Every single light.
Complete darkness swallowed the room.
Shouts erupted immediately.
"What happened?"
"The power!"
"Find the backup generator!"
But I smiled in the darkness.
Vera had done it. The plan was working.
Anya would be safe now. Viktor would take her away from this nightmare.
But then my own nightmare began.
The walls started closing in. I could feel them. My chest tightened. My breathing became shallow and panicked.
I was twelve years old again. Locked in the wine cellar. Banging on walls till my hands bled. Screaming for someone to let me out.
"No," I whispered. My hands gripped the edge of the table. "Not now. Please not now."
But the panic did not care. It never did.
The darkness pressed down on me like a physical weight. I could not breathe.
"Argh!" The scream tore from my throat. I grabbed my head. The pain was unbearable. My chest felt like it was caving in.
I prayed silently. Please let Anya be safe. Please let her not be stubborn. Please let her go with Viktor.
Because I couldn't let Anya see me like this
I’d rather die.
My vision blurred. My body swayed. I was about to collapse when the backup generator kicked in.
Light flooded the room immediately.
I gulped in air. My chest loosened. The walls stopped closing in.
Mikhail was standing in front of me, shielding me from the others.
"Did anyone hear that?" Katya's father asked. "I heard a groan. Like someone in pain."
"It was nothing," Mikhail said quickly. His voice was firm. "Just the shock of the power going out. Now I suggest you all leave. The girl has been taken care of. Your business here is done."
"But..."
"Leave. Now." Mikhail's tone left no room for argument.
The families stood. Then filed out one by one.
Alexei paused at the door, looked back at me and smirked. Then he left with the others.
When the room was empty, I sank into my chair. My whole body was shaking.
"Nikolai," Mikhail started.
"Leave me alone." My voice was shallow.
"But..."
"I said leave!"
Mikhail hesitated. Then nodded. "As you wish, Pakhan."
He left, closing the door quietly.
I sat there in the room, trying to calm my racing heart.
After several minutes, I stood on shaking legs and made my way to my room.
I needed to know if Anya was safe. If Viktor had gotten her out.
I called for Vera. She came quickly.
Her face was pale.
"Pakhan, I..."
"Did Viktor get her out?" I demanded. "Is she safe?"
Vera's face crumpled. "I do not know."
My hands trembled. "What do you mean you do not know?"
"I saw her leaving when the lights were still on. I saw the car waiting at the gate. Then, I cut the power like you said. But we couldn't find her in the dark." Her voice broke. "The car was still there. But An… Anya was not."
My blood went cold. "What?"
"The driver said he does not know how she disappeared. One moment she was walking towyard the car. The next, she was gone."
"That is impossible!" I grabbed Vera's shoulders. "She cannot just vanish!"
"I am sorry, Pakhan. I do not know what happened. I swear I tried to find her. But she is not here."
I shoved her away. She stumbled and fell to the floor.
I did not care that she was old. That she had served my family for decades.
All I cared about was Anya.
Someone had taken her. Someone had my Anya.
I stormed out of my room to the main hall.
"Everyone! Gather here now!" I roared. "Every single person in this house! Now!"
Maids came running. Guards assembled. Mikhail appeared from wherever he had been.
Within minutes, everyone was there. Confused and scared.
I walked straight to the driver. The one who was supposed to take Anya to the train station.
"Where is she?" I demanded.
"I... I do not know, Pakhan. She just disappeared. I swear."
"You are lying!" I grabbed him by the throat, slammed him against the wall.
He coughed. "Please, Pakhan! I am telling the truth! I do not know where she went!"
I pulled out a knife from one of guard’s pocket.
"Nikolai, wait!" Mikhail shouted.
But I did not wait. I slit the driver's throat in one smooth motion.
Blood sprayed, his eyes went wide.
I let his body drop to the floor.
Gasps echoed through the hall.
"Nikolai!"Mikhail thundered. "You need to calm down!"
I turned and threw the knife at him.
It hit him in the shoulder. He let out a low groan. He stumbled back, blood seeped through his shirt.
"You did this!" I screamed at him. "You brought that snake Dmitri here! You called this fucking meeting! If you had not done any of that, Anya would still be here! Safe! With me!"
I scanned the crowd. "Where is Dmitri? Someone find him! Now!"
Guards scattered, searching every. They came back ten minutes later empty-handed.
"We cannot find him, Pakhan. He is not here. His room is empty. His things are gone."
Of course. Dmitri had taken her.
That bastard. That fucking snake.
I grabbed Mikhail by his shirt. He winced. His shoulder was still bleeding.
"This is your fault!" I slammed him against the wall. "You brought him here! You trusted him! And now he has her!"
I threw punch after punch at his face.
Mikhail did not fight back.
"If anything happens to her," I said between punches. "If he hurts her. If he touches her. I will kill you myself. Do you hear me? I will fucking kill you!"
"Nikolai," Katya's voice came from behind me. She was grinning. "Maybe she left willingly."
I froze and turned slowly. Katya stood arms crossed.
"What did you say?"
"I said maybe she left willingly. She and Dmitri were quite close. Always talking. Always smiling. Maybe they planned this together."
Without thinking, my hand swung out.
The slap connected with Katya's cheek, hard.
The force sent her flying backward. She crashed into a wooden table. It splintered under her weight.
She lay there unconscious. Blood trickling from her mouth.
I turned to the guards.
"Block every border. Every port. Every airport. Every train station. I want the entire city on lockdown. Do you understand? No one gets in
or out until we find her."
"Yes, Pakhan!"
"And if you do not find her..." I looked at each of them. Making sure they saw the murder in my eyes. "I will hang your heads on crosses. Every. Single. One of you."